Why Does Alcohol Cause High Blood Pressure?

Alcohol causes high blood pressure because alcohol demands insulin in order to be metabolized, and rising insulin levels cause increased blood pressure. Eat a healthy snack that is rich in protein or fat when drinking to modulate insulin response to alcohol, and consider the advice of a nutritionist and herbalist in this free video on blood pressure.

Video Transcript

Hi. My name is Charlotte Skiles. I'm a nutrition consultant and clinical herbalist, with Eat in Peace Wellness Consulting, located in Austin, Texas. And today's question is, why does alcohol cause increased blood pressure? Well, there's a relatively simple answer to this question, and it's basically because alcohol upsets blood sugar disregulation. Alcohol demands insulin in order to be metabolized. It's instantly absorbed as a form of sugar in the body, and insulin comes out and elevates, and guess what happens? Blood pressure increases. It's really quite simple as that. So, one of my recommendations is that if you are going to drink alcohol in moderation, than you would want to do that with a healthy snack of some sort that's rich in protein and fat, to kind of modulate that insulin response there with wine and beer and what not. Or any of the fruit juices involved in alcoholic beverages. So, some cheese, some nuts, that sort of thing, with your alcohol might moderate that effect a bit. But that's why alcohol contributes to increased blood pressure.